Talon is a masterful work of articulation

DC Comics Designer Series 1 Talon Action Figure by Greg Capullo

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DC Collectibles' latest action figure release is a line of "Designer" figures based on the designs of DC Comics' top artists. The DC Comics Designer Action Figures Series 1 focuses on the work of "Batman" artist Greg Capullo and features Batman, Nightwing, The Riddler and Talon. The Court of Owls' Talon is an excellent showcase of design and sculpting.

The Court of Owls had many Talons over the decades, but this figure is of the William Cobb Talon. In addition to being sent after Batman, Cobb is actually Nightwing's re-animated great grandfather. This makes the villain a perfect compliment to either of the heroes featured in Series 1.

Capullo's character design is a sleek black bodysuit adorned with various weapons and owlish accents. The design is simple in order to accommodate the movement and stealth of a trained assassin thought to be nothing more than a children's nursery rhyme. However, the owl-like designs of the cowl, arm guard and medallions give the character an iconic look that instantly identifies Cobb as a Talon associated with the Court of Owls.

The sculpt by Jonathan Matthews is an amazing work of craftmanship. The figure features approximately 30 points of articulation. In fact, the articulation is so well integrated into the sculpt that not only does the figure not appear overly jointed, as many highly articulated figures do, but it makes an accurate count of all the points difficult. Another concern of highly articulated figures is loose joints, but after nearly two weeks of display and joint manipulation, the figure's joints remain tight and capable of holding the figure up firmly.

The careful consideration of the sculpt does not end there. Talon's belts are made of a glossy soft plastic, which gives the appearance of leather when contrasted to the duller hard plastic of Talon's armored bodysuit. Talon's waist belt contains a sheath for one of the figure's two knives. Oh, and see those six throwing daggers attached to Talon's chest belt? Yeah, those are removable. With the proper finagling, the throwing knives will even fit in one of Talon's hands.

Speaking of weapons fitting, Talon's two swords and two knives all fit firmly in Talon's hands. The sheath on Talon's side is also able to securely fit the knives. The remaining knife can fit in one of Cobb's back scabbards, as well. The absence of a second knife sheath is one of only two design flaws to the sculpt, which is odd considering Capullo's character design has two sheaths and there was room on the belt to accommodate another sheath in the sculpt. Talon also comes with a Court of Owls mask. While the mask is not wearable on the figure, it is a fun add-on.

The one other flaw of the sculpt is the back scabbards. The hard plastic material makes it so the swords will slide right out with any angling of the figure. Had the scabbards been made of the same or similar material as the sheath and chest belt, this sculpt would have been virtually flawless. And, yes, you have been paying attention, the knife fits more firmly in the sword scabbard than the sword itself. On most other figures, this would have affected the overall rating of the figure, as there is truly no reason for this design defect, but this sculpt excels in so many other ways that it still receives the highest possible recommendation.

The DC Comics Designer Series Talon Action Figure is an incredible encapsulation of "Batman" artist Greg Capullo's original character design and meets an impressive standard of articulation. The figure is available now at comic shops everywhere, as well as Amazon.com and the DC Entertainment store.

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Brian Thomer is a comic book reader of more than 20 years and a longtime Philadelphia area resident. He is the creator of the "Manhunter 25k Challenge" and other grassroots promotional efforts. He has been featured on BrokenFrontier.com and appeared in the pages of Green Lantern, Checkmate and Manhunter. Contact Brian at this address.